Buddhist sites in Anuradhapura Sri Lanka

Sri Maha Bodhi

The Sacred Bodhi Tree (Oldest recorded Tree in the world)

(The sacred Bo Tree as seen on June 2006. The latest addition of golden support pillars to the tree is also seen. pic: Mirisawetiya webteam)

A branch of the very Bodhi tree under which the Buddha attained Enlightenment in 528 BC

Creator : Brought to Sri Lanka by Sangamitta Thero, the daughter of the great Indian king Ashoka and planted with the patronage of king Devanampiyatissa

Planted in Sri Lanka in : 246 BC

Highlights

  • The most venerated of All Buddhist places of worship.

  • The oldest (recorded) living tree in the world (more than 2200 years old)!

  • The only living being to "witness" the enlightenment of the Buddha.

  • The southern branch of the actual Bodhi tree (Ficus Religiosa)under which the Buddha attained enlightenment. Most of the Bo trees in Sri Lanka and some in Burma and Thailand have been grown from the seeds of this tree.

  • For more than 2200 years, the sacred tree was looked after by pious Buddhists.

  • The early kings gifted land to the caretakers of the sacred tree. the descendants of these caretakers still look after the tree, making this caretaker profession one of the oldest professions in the world ! (These "villudara"people still look after it, after more than 2000 years !!)

  • Regarded as containing the power and the strength of the Buddha through the fact that a direct connection established between the Buddha and the sacred tree at the point of enlightenment and also the fact that the Buddha himself appointed the Bodhi tree as a representation of himself.

Historical Facts

  • Its a miracle how, when all other buddhist places of worship were plundered and destroyed by south indian invaders, the sacred tree survived !

  • Even though the rest of Anuradhapura went in to ruins after the 12th century, pious Buddhists and Monks kept the Bodhi tree in tact and worshipped among tremendous difficulties

  • To prevent the Bo tree from the attacks of wild elephants, the keepers of the sacred tree lit fires around it. The firewood which were needed for this was brought by villagers, in sufficient quantities for the whole year, on each August Full moon day. Though the tree today is well protected, the ancient firewood custom is still celebrated today as the "Daramiti Poya " (The firewood full moon) on each August full moon day

  • Almost each Sinhala king made some sort of contribution to the sacred tree. The present stone wall around the sacred tree was made by King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe in the 18th century to stop the attacks of wild elephants. The significant fact here is that at that time, Anuradhapura was no longer the kingdom and lay in ruins, yet the King decided to send workers all the way and put up a wall. This goes to show the deep veneration that the kings and the people of the country had for the sacred tree. Recent excavations have shown that this wall was built on top of an older wall , which in turn was built on top of the original wall .

  • In ancient times there was a canal bringing water from the tank "Tissa Wewa" to the sacred tree. This channel went round the tree and emptied in to a reservoir by the Brazen Palace This was built by King Mahanaga and the remains of this channel have been found during recent excavations.

  • In 1907 and in 1911, two branches of the tree fell as a result of rainstorms.

  • In 1929, a madman axed one whole branch of the sacred tree.

  • In 1969 a golden railing was built to protect the sacred tree. (Courtesy: Ven. Utiravana Narada Thero and the "Sri Maha Bodhi Arakshaka Ranweta Dayaka Sabhava".

  • In 1985, Tamil Tigers launched an inhuman attack on innocent pilgrims (who had come to worship the tree) and killed them. However the terrorists could not harm the sacred tree.

  • In 2003, another golden railing was built (Courtesy: former PM, Ranil Wickramsinghe, Atmasthandhipathi Dr ven. Pallegama Srinivasa and the "Sri Maha Bodhi Arakshaka Ranweta Dayaka Sabhava".)

  • In December 2005, a week before the Tsunami, a part of the wall surrounding the tree collapsed. The priests took this as a sign of impending danger but thought more in the lines of another terrorist attack than a Tsunami.

  • In 2006, golden pillars were erected to support the tree (Courtesy: Ven. Uduwe Dhammananda Thero)

Click to see what is there to see at the sacred tree area.

 

Back to other sites

Back to Mirisawetiya home